Various types of diets have been made popular by TV, magazines, internet, and celebrities. Some of these include the Atkins diet, the Zone diet, Ketogenic diet, Vegetarian diet, Vegan diet, Weight Watchers diet, Paleo diet, 5:2 diet, carnivore diet, high carb, low carb, and IIFYM diet.

Establish a deficit

Each one can be effective to help individuals to lose fat, provided a calorie deficit is reached. A caloric deficit is any shortage in the amount of calories consumed relative to the amount of calories required for maintenance of current body weight. This means you are burning more calories than you are taking in. A deficit can be created by reducing input/calories consumed. A deficit can also be created by increasing output (exercise) without a corresponding increase in input (calories). While this may seem like common sense, advertising can deceive a person into thinking that the latest magic diet will result in rapid and huge fat loss with no account for calories consumed or expended.

For optimal fat loss you should be in a calorie deficit, but not a nutrient deficit. This means you should not be deficient in vitamins or minerals which are needed for optimal health. A balanced diet of all food groups including fruits, vegetables, and carbohydrates can be consumed and still lead to fat loss. 

Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting, also known as intermittent energy restriction, is an umbrella term for various meal timing schedules that cycle between voluntary fasting and non-fasting over a given period. Intermittent fasting is becoming increasing popular in modern times as a method of dieting. The definition of fasting is to abstain from all or some kinds of food and drink which is particularly important in some religions. Like any diet method, intermittent fasting has its positives and negatives and the suitability of fasting for a person depends on the several variables such as training goal, and the psychology of that individual.

The idea of behind fasting is due to the activation of the AMPK cellular pathway. AMPK is a protein that plays a role in regulating cellular energy when energy is low. Activation of this protein causes cellular repair mechanisms which involves the clean-up, and recycling of old/damaged cells in the body. This is why intermittent fasting is often reported to be great for metabolic health.

Though meal timing has been around for millennia, it is popular in the media lately. Though scientific research is quite clear on the fact that fat loss is dictated by overall energy balance, meal timing can have several benefits both on a physiological and practical level. 

Types of Intermittent Fasting

The most common form of time restricted feeding is the traditional form of intermittent fasting whereby energy is restricted for some parts of the day and eaten in others. Examples of this are the 16:8 fast, where a person fasts for 16 hours and eats for 8 hours. This can be a useful method of reducing calories as the eating window is slightly shorter than normal.

Alternate day fasting involves not eating for one day and eating the next which is impractical and unsustainable for most individuals. 

Modified fasting involves eating extraordinarily little amounts of food on fasting days with some modified fasts restrict intake on fasting days to 20-25 percent of required calories. This again is impractical and unsustainable for most individuals, and could encourage a poor relationship with food.

Advantages of fasting:

• May improve blood lipid markers like cholesterol 
• Increases cell recycling/clean up
• Less time spent eating over the course of the day
• Can help people restrict calories and lose weight more easily (skipping breakfast and not eating till the afternoon). 

Negatives of fasting:

• Can lead to a poor relationship with food long term
• Drops in blood sugars can lead to craving of sweet food and food binging
• Can be hard to fit all the required food into a short time window

Intermittent fasting can be a great tool to help you lose bodyfat and stay within your calorie allowance, but it can be hard to restrict you’re eating window to eight hours per day. At the end of the day, the best diet is one you can stick to, so factor that in when you choose what type of diet you follow.

References:

Santos, H.O. and Macedo, R.C., 2018. Impact of intermittent fasting on the lipid profile: Assessment associated with diet and weight loss. Clinical nutrition ESPEN, 24, pp.14-21.

Mishra, S. and Singh, B., 2020. Intermittent fasting and metabolic switching: a brief overview. Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal, 13(3), pp.1555-1562.

Bagherniya, M., Butler, A.E., Barreto, G.E. and Sahebkar, A., 2018. The effect of fasting or calorie restriction on autophagy induction: A review of the literature. Ageing research reviews, 47, pp.183-197.

Welton, S., Minty, R., O’Driscoll, T., Willms, H., Poirier, D., Madden, S. and Kelly, L., 2020. Intermittent fasting and weight loss: Systematic review. Canadian Family Physician, 66(2), pp.117-125.